Grey's Anatomy: She's Killing Me (9x20)

As seems to be easiest with Grey's Anatomy, I'll take the plot one strand at a time. I'm always amazed by how much this show can cram into one forty minute episode! I still leave with fond memories every time.

The biggest plot - and by far my favorite - involved the presence of two Syrian doctors who came to the hospital to learn how to do field surgeries in a war zone. The doctors of Seattle Grace-Mercy West were stunned to find that the doctors had very little in the way of supplies, and so they all got together to try and find new ways of performing the surgeries without the equipment they would normally have access to. It gave everyone a chance to shine in their specialty and form connections to the Syrians, who were very kind and understanding. In particular, it was endearing to see Kepner's relationship grow with one of the doctors, who told the romantic story of how he had courted his wife, but then wryly ended the account by retracting it: "Doctor Kepner.... we went to see Terminator 3."

Under this larger plot, several smaller things were going on. The continuing plot of the Dawson family is pretty intriguing - the mother seems to be alright now, but the dad still hasn't regained consciousness. Little Ethan is quite adorable, and Owen's concern for him is sweet to see. I appreciated the journey that Christina took in this episode. At first she was totally flummoxed about Owen's behavior, but by the end she had seen the bond between Owen and Ethan, and I think it really opened her eyes to a pretty irrevocable difference between them. Christina doesn't want to be a mom, but Owen certainly seems to want to be a dad. I wonder how this will continue to play out in the future. Also connected to this plot was a very amusing thread about Owen trying to keep Ethan at the hospital. Arizona refuses at first, even when Alex steps in and says the kid is sick. Eventually she relents, and Ethan is admitted to the pediatrics ward for the night.

Another significant thread this week involved Meredith finding out that she tested positive for the Alzheimer's gene. She immediately becomes paranoid, telling Derek that they must update their will and trying to solicit a promise from him that he'll kill her before she entirely loses her memory. When Derek is not forthcoming she turns to Christina, who agrees readily: "Mer, you had me at lethal injection." It was also nice to see Christina admit honestly that she doesn't want to be a mom. Meredith agrees that Christina can be a cool aunt instead, and Christina reminds her that she's not dying at the moment, so maybe she should relax. Derek helps with this as well, by pointing out: "we have survived an unusual number of very bad things. At this point it ups our odds!" Derek also gets his own genome test, and discovers a number of things potentially wrong with him. Meredith says: "Maybe we live forever." Derek's answer made me laugh: "Maybe we do, or maybe I become a bald heroine addict."

Speaking of Derek, he had another subplot this week that I wasn't as fond of. Shane has been desperately trying to get back in with Shepherd because of his passion for neurosurgery. However, Derek is working with Brooks now. In a sort of odd and unexpected moment, Derek announces that Shane isn't as good as Brooks is, and that he should try to find another specialty where he can shine. That's all well and good, but it felt like it came out of nowhere. I understand that Derek needs to be teaching Brooks as well, but where has it ever been indicated that Shane wasn't good at neuro? It came out of left field. However, I will enjoy seeing how Shane figures out his next move. 

And then there's April and Matthew. Oh boy. Matthew wants April to meet his mother, and April is nervous. She finally comes clean about not being a virgin, and Matthew is pissed - about the virginity? No. About the lying? Yes. I don't really find their relationship all that compelling, but I was glad that April finally came clean, if only so it moves them past this uninteresting part in their relationship. I was glad that Matthew was angry - April needs people to hold her accountable for her mistreatment of men, regardless of her pure intentions.

Jackson Avery got relegated to the role of angry board member this week. It was amusing to watch him try to juggle everything as several people went up to him and asked him for his support. One of my favorite moments in the episode was when Callie talks about her success at the TED talk, and says "cartilage is trending! Because of me!" It was also good to see Dr. Webber dispense some advice to him at the end.

And now for Bailey. I saved this one for last because... oh my goodness! Three of Bailey's patients have had post-op infections, and in fact one of them dies during this episode. At first, Leah Murphy the intern was getting the blame... but it turns out that Bailey is the only doctor who touched all three of the sick patients. What could this mean? I have a lot of respect for the acting and the energy that came from Chandra Wilson (Bailey) this week. I was really engaged by her the whole time, and I'm very anxious to see what will happen next!

As you can probably tell, I liked this episode a lot. Really the only two weaker plot threads for me were Shane/Derek and April/Matthew. Other than that, this episode was really solid.

8/10